Eagles trust in teamwork

ALWAYS TRYING TO IMPROVE- Oak Park senior guard Nick Saliano, above, drives to the basket during Monday's practice session. Kareem Maddox, right, throws down a dunk. The Eagles open the CIF-SS Division IIIAA playoffs at home Friday night. The shot didn't go in, and the Oak Park boys' basketball team lost the game. But if he had to do it all over again, Eagle senior center Kareem Maddox wouldn't change a thing.

During Oak Park's final regular-season game last Wednesday against Tri-Valley League rival Oaks Christian, the Eagles had a chance to tie the contest in the final seconds. Needing a 3-point basket, Maddox, the team's leading scorer, passed up a shot from behind the arc and dished the ball off to Stephen Thompson, who misfired from long range.

Oaks Christian won 38-35, snapping the Eagles' eight-game winning streak.

"I gave it up to Thompson because he was more open than I was," Maddox said. "Obviously he missed it. But I would definitely do it again because that's the type of trust we have on this team. And I know anyone else would do the same if it came down to that as well."

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Despite losing several key contributors from last season's titlewinning squad, belief in one another carried Oak Park (20-6) to the league championship this year.

According to Maddox, the team-first attitude must remain in effect if the Eagles want to make noise in the upcoming CIFSouthern Section Division IIIAA playoffs, which begin at home Friday night against Morro Bay. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

"More than getting better as a team, we're going to need to bond," said Maddox, who will play for Princeton in the fall.

"This team spends a lot of time with each other. We're always hanging out, and I think that's going to be the most important thing- playing as a team more than just running our plays."

During the regular season, Maddox led Oak Park in points (19.2), rebounds (11.8) and blocks (4.3) per game. He was, however, far from a one-man show.

Oak Park also received major contributions from Nick Saliano, Bobby Hillard, Andy Winningham, Adam Quinn, Anthony Pondella and Thompson.

Despite missing five games at the end of the year with a bruised foot, Saliano, a three-year varsity player, finished second on the team with 12.1 points per game. He was back practicing on Monday and is expected to be available for the postseason.

"We didn't have Saliano the last five games and we were able to get away with it," Oak Park head coach Ed Chevalier said. "But I really thought against Oaks Christian not having him was a huge factor. It really cut into what we were capable of doing."

Winningham, the Eagles' 5-foot-8 point guard, led OPHS in steals and assists. He also tied Quinn for the team lead with 25 3-point field goals.

Hillard was third with 9.8 points a game and averaged 4.9 rebounds per contest.

Pondella doesn't put up monster stats, but he is Oak Park's best oneonone defender. At 6foot3, the senior forward has given opposing scorers fits by chasing them all over the court.

"He's our best guy on the ball," Maddox said. "No doubt."

Last year's Eagle team put up a lot of points en route to its semifinal playoff appearance. If Oak Park wants to have the same type of success this time around- or even surpass those results- Chevalier said they're going to have to do it with defense.

"We're not a totally inexperienced team, but we are a lessthan-experienced team," the coach said. "So we're going to have to get it done on the defensive end and hope we can score enough points to beat people."